In the best fantasy, the kind that really matters, the writer does not cobble together magical elements and call it a world. To the contrary, writers like Tolkien (and Lewis) create a Secondary World that possesses its own internal consistency. And creating such a world, Tolkien insists, calls for greater skill and insight than “realistic” novels that simply record what they see around them without subjecting their work to a greater coherence.

If your organization is bad at direct mail fundraising, you are in a tough spot, as you probably know. But it’s worse than you might have thought, because you don’t have a lot of options. If you’re bad at direct mail, don’t think you’ll find a refuge from your shortcomings by focusing on social media marketing.

Someday, I’d like to have tea with Mary. You know Mary, the girl God the Father chose to mother Jesus when he entered this world as Immanuel, God with us? Not the sad Mary whose blue-veiled image broods over medieval cathedrals, and not the bewildered Mary played by the little blond girl in the Christmas pageant. The real Mary would have stories to tell and wisdom to impart.

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